CITIZEN - LIFE IN YOUR GLASS WORLD
Midwestern hardcore punk band Citizen are releasing their fourth album Life in Your Glass World this Friday. With their first self-sufficient album in their ten years as a band, their power and raw energy has increased tenfold.
Midwestern hardcore punk band Citizen is releasing their fourth album Life in Your Glass World on March 26th, following the success of their last album As You Please in 2017.
The lead single “I Want to Kill You” guides the rest of the album with drums and bass first, and a hypnotising and energising beat that contrasts the hardcore lyrics beautifully. There are 11 tracks on the home-recorded album, ranging from the powerful instrumentals of ‘Death Dance Approximately’ to ‘Call Your Bluff’s intense tone, ending with the beauty that is ‘Edge of the World’.
With their first self-sufficient album in their ten years as a band, their power and raw energy has increased tenfold. Rather than recording in a studio, Citizen recorded everything back home in the Midwest, Toledo, Ohio, specifically. They literally recorded in the lead vocalist (Mat Kerekes)’s garage. Raw to the core - totally matching the energy that Life in Your Glass World has.
Wondering why it’s called Life in your Glass World? Toledo is called the Glass City, and many of us can relate to our whole world, even for a little while, being our hometown. But like so much of Citizen’s work, it’s up for interpretation, too.
The band has always challenged what genres mean, refusing to ever define themselves by one label. Even calling them “a hardcore punk band” doesn’t fit them exactly- and that’s the way that Citizen likes it.
This radiates throughout their album, with many of the songs having club-worthy dance beats, distinctive guitar instrumentals, and a heart and soul that makes their whole album so repeatable.
Something that surely cannot be forgotten is the lyrics - each song tells a story. And while different from the last track, they all blend together to tell a collective story that each member of the band put their whole soul into. Songs like ‘Blue Sunday’ are about feeling happy staying home but knowing it’s ultimately your demise at the end of the day, while ‘Black and Red’ is about a lover’s distance and karma, and the rest of the songs on the album tell different stories yet all ironically bond together over one thing - their uniqueness.
If this is your first time listening to any song from Citizen, I highly recommend it not be your last. They truly have a song for everyone and every mood, not only from this album but from the rest of their discography as well.
Alex Shukri
★★★★★